JOURNAL #7-CANOE TRIP

FACT #7: The canoe varies in material according to locality and in design according to the use made of it. In North America, where horses were not generally used and where the interlocking river systems were unusually favorable, the canoe in its various types was highly developed. Where large logs were available, it took the form of the hollowed-out log, or dugout, especially on the N Pacific coast, where immense trees grew at the water's edge, where an intricate archipelago invited navigation in ocean waters, and where the tribes came to depend to a large extent upon sea life for their food supply. A semi-seafaring culture developed there, and the great canoes of the Haida and Tlingit tribes, with high, decorated prows, capable of carrying 30 to 50 people, began to resemble the boats of Viking culture.On the northern fringe of the American forest where smaller tree trunks were found and rapid rivers and many portages favored a lighter craft, the bark canoe dominated, reaching its highest development in the birch bark canoe. At portages this light canoe could be lifted on one's shoulders and easily transported. It was the birch bark canoe that carried such explorers as Jacques Marquette, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, and David Thompson on their journeys and carried fur traders out to trade with Native Americans; thus it played an important part in early American history.
[source:Yahoo Education]

Thursday was a lot of fun canoeing and exploring Fishtrap Bay. Though Andrea and I are both big nature fans, I don't think we had any idea what we were getting ourselves into! The hardest part was by far the steering, but it was a lot of fun once we got the hang of it!

When we got back to Fishtrap Bay we were so tired
but it was a great workout for the two of us....

I wish we would have gotten to see more wildlife when we were out on the bay, but it was neat to identify the different types on mangroves like the ones I discussed in my blog last week.
In class on Thursday we also discussed Professor Wilkinson's trip through the Everglades and his encounters with 20+ venomous snakes! I would have been terrified for sure but as I continue taking colloquium, I have found that I have become much more comfortable with snakes and other creatures.

I was recently swimming with a friend and we found a ringneck snake in his pool. I was so proud of myself for being able to pick it up and transport it to a safer area (especially since he was afraid to touch it) ;)

My new friend!

(though this isn't the picture I took, the snake we found looked just like this!)

After we saved it, we looked it up in his colloquium book and found:

Description: Ringneck snakes are small – 10 - 15 in (25 - 38 cm) – slender snakes that are generally grayish with a yellow or orange band around the back of the neck and a yellow or orange underside.

Range and Habitat: The ringneck snake has one of the largest geographic ranges of any species of snake in North America and is represented by several subspecies. Ringnecks are found throughout the eastern two thirds of the United States from southern Canada to Florida , across the desert southwest and along most of the Pacific coast. Ringnecks are found throughout Georgia and South Carolina with the northern subspecies (D. p. edwardsi) inhabiting the mountains and the southern subspecies (D. p. punctatus) being found in the Coastal Plain. Ringnecks from the Piedmont are intergrades between the two races.

Habits: Like other small woodland snakes in the Southeast, ringneck snakes spend most of their time underground or hidden under logs, rocks, leaf litter, or debris. However, ringnecks can occasionally be found crawling in the open or crossing roads, often at night. Ringnecks are one of the more common species in many habitats in the Southeast and in other parts of their range can reach extraordinary densities.
[source:uga.edu]

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